TWO people have each been jailed for five years after being convicted of keeping a brothel and laundering more than £1.2 million.

Margaret Paterson, 60, and Robert Munro, 61, ran a network of prostitutes across Scotland, prosecutors said.

They were found guilty of charges relating to brothel-keeping, money laundering and living on the earnings of prostitution after a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Paterson was also convicted of aiding and abetting prostitution.

Prosecutors said £594,741 was spent buying luxury goods while the rest of the proceeds were laundered through a company bank account and illegally-obtained cash between 2001 and 2011.

When police raided the business address in Edinburgh's Grosvenor Street they found about 400 unused designer handbags piled 7ft high in a bedroom and around 100 boxes of designer shoes.

Speaking after sentencing, Lindsey Miller, head of the Crown's Serious Organised Crime Division, said: "Margaret Paterson and Robert Munro exploited vulnerable women for their own profit, running a large network of prostitutes across Scotland, and laundering the proceeds of their criminal activities.

"This conviction demonstrates our commitment to bringing to justice those who exploit others and seek to benefit from crime."

A driver for the agency, Ian Goalen, 59, pleaded guilty to living on the earnings of prostitution and was sentenced to a 150 hour community payback order.

Confiscation proceedings have now commenced against all three, the Crown Office said.